Fifteen Days: Stories of Bravery, Friendship, Life and Death from Inside the New Canadian Army (edition 2007)

by Christie Blatchford (Author)

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143	6	191,093	(3.97)	9

lamour's review

Want to know what it was like for Canadian soldiers in Afghanistan? Want to know what many of them thought of the mission. Read Blatchford's book.

She was embedded with the Canadians on three tours in Afghanistan in 2006. She traveled into battle with them and spent many hours becoming close to them and getting their thoughts on what they were doing there. She divided the book into chapters each of which covered one day on which a Canadian soldier or soldiers were killed. She explained the background of the battle and what happened when the enemy made contact.

This is not a read for the squeamish but she clearly explains the terror and confusion of battle and the often bloody aftermath. If you want to know how the modern Canadian Army performed in that hell hole of Afghanistan, this is the book for you.

She describes how the Canadian fallen are brought back to Canada and the teams of military supporters who accompany the bodies and assist the families. This a very moving part of the book.

Are families angry because their son or daughter died in this war? In some cases there is anger initially but in most there is pride in the service given to their country. In one case, after her husband was killed, the wife joined the forces and thus joined her sons and future daughter-in law in the army. (

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lamour | Apr 5, 2016 |

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lamour | Apr 5, 2016 |

Blatchford is a respected Canadian journalist writing for The Globe & Mail. Her trip to Afghanistan as an embedded reporter in 2006 revealed her passion. This contains fifteen reports, of fifteen days with Canadian forces that create a detailed picture of what they faced. Blatchford shows insight, empathy and admiration. Her frank, often painful, first-hand accounts communicated exactly what modern warfare entails. (

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VivienneR | Feb 9, 2016 |

Real men and women and real situations. Within a single chapter I could laugh, cry, be shocked and filled with admiration for these tales of real life military bravery. You must steel yourself to read each installment but the journey is well written and worth it. (

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hilarymclean6 | Aug 11, 2009 |

Superb book. Ms. Blatchford "gets" the soldiers she writes about. They are neither saints nor sinners. They are committed for the largest part to the profession of arms, and deeply, deeply, interested in their comrades. She has captured the essence of professional Canadian soldiers and has written about them very well indeed. This is a non-political book. While the author appears to make few bones about supporting the mission, her descriptions of events and of who the soldiers are is essentially true. This is a good book to get a sense of what the British Army calls the realities of battle for western soldiers, and a great book to get a sense of what Canadian soldiers are doing now. (

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